Scuba Diving Specialty Courses at Aquatic Adventures in Northern Virginia

As we discussed in previous postings the entry level Scuba Certification is the Open Water Course.   Everyone regardless of what certification agency they are certified by start with this course.  The Advanced Open Water Course is the one that immediately follows in terms of skill development.    Once you have completed these two courses what else is available?

Wreck Diver & Enriched Air Nitrox – Most Popular Specialty Scuba Certification Courses in Washington DC area

There are several options available to divers in regard to Continuing Scuba Education Courses.   Most people will select the course that they want to take according to what interests them.  For years the most popular of all of the Specialty Courses offered by the Professional Association of Diving Instructors or PADI has been the PADI Wreck Diver Course.  The east coast of the United States is literally littered with ship wrecks.  These make wonderful diving destinations.  The ships become part of the artificial reef programs and provide habitat for countless numbers of fish and fish species.

In recent years the PADI Enriched Air – Nitrox course has become the most popular.  Enriched air is air that has more then the normal 21% oxygen in it.  By using this when diving the scuba diver will have longer allowable bottom times thus getting more time to explore the wreck or reef that they are diving on.  When diving with enriched air the diver also has to have scuba diving equipment that is compatible with the enriched air that he is breathing.  The most common pieces of equipment that need to be suited for enriched air diving is the scuba regulator, the enriched air compatible diving computer, and the oxygen cleaned scuba cylinder.

Since everyone today has a camera it is only natural to want to take photographs underwater.  Consequently, Underwater Photography and specifically PADI Underwater Digital Photography are very popular specialty dive courses.   Needless to say an underwater camera is a must when taking this specialty course.

Night Diver & Underwater Navigation – Useful Scuba Specialty Dive Courses

One of the most exciting specialty dive courses is the Night Diver Specialty Course.  In this course the diver learns how to plan and execute a scuba dive at night.  Since many fish (such as lobster, moray eels, squirrel fish, etc) are nocturnal diving at night is the best way to encounter these exciting critters.  Underwater Navigation is one of the most useful scuba dive specialty courses.  This course teaches the diver how to navigate underwater using both an underwater compass and by natural navigation.  Needless to say, being able to find your way underwater is a very useful scuba diving skill.

Deep Diver – Wreck Diver – Underwater Hunting & Collecting on one of our Dive Center Trips

At Aquatic Adventures we have a very complete Scuba Dive Travel Program.   Our summer trips to Morehead City, N.C. are great places to conduct the PADI Deep Diver, PADI Wreck Diver or the Hunting & Collecting Specialty.  We also offer trips throughout the year to varies dive destinations in the Caribbean, Pacific and Central America.  These more exotic trips are great places to complete the PADI Aware Fish Identification Specialty Course, Underwater Photography, PADI Night Diver or the Drift Diver Specialty Course.

PADI Master Scuba Diver at Aquatic Adventures in Alexandria Northern Virginia

One of the marks of a true scuba diver is their love of scuba diving and their desire to learn different types of diving.  At Aquatic Adventures Scuba Academy we not only offer all of the Scuba Specialty Dive Courses we just discussed, but we also promote the PADI Master Scuba Diver Certification.   If a scuba diver completes the PADI Rescue Diver Course and any 5 PADI Specialty Courses and logs over 50 dives he/she can be awarded the PADI Master Scuba Diver Certification, which shows that the diver has experience in several types of diving and has also logged a number of dives denoting an experience level.  This is a non professional scuba rating but one that is a point of pride to many divers.

Regardless of you area of interest if you are an avid Scuba Diver there is a Specialty dive course just perfect for you!

Aquatic Adventures Scuba Academy, a PADI 5 Star Instructor Training Dive Center in Northern Virginia offers many Scuba Diving Courses.

Beginner Scuba Certification:

Aquatic Adventures offers scuba lessons in Northern Virginia and offers many different courses.  Which one is the best scuba course for me?  This may vary from diver to diver.  Everyone starts with the beginner course called the Open Water Course or if a PADI Dive Center the PADI Open Water Course.  At Aquatic Adventures the PADI Open Water Course takes two weekends and teaches the basic skills and knowledge of basic scuba diving equipment needed in order to scuba dive safely.

Advanced Open Water Certification:

Once you are certified then you will want to move on to more a advanced scuba dive skill level.  The next course is usually the Advanced Open Water course or if a PADI Dive Center the PADI Advanced Open Water Course.  The Advanced course picks up where the Open Water course stops.  It includes areas such as underwater navigation, deep diving, night diver, peak performance buoyancy, wreck diver and many other options.  Since Aquatic Adventures is in the Washington D.C. area this is a popular course.  Most divers in this area appreciate the need for better buoyancy and better underwater navigation.  Going right along with these courses is the need for a good underwater compass and owning your own buoyancy control device or BCD is always a good idea.

Specialty Diver Courses:

One of the nice things about the Advanced Open Water course is that each of these five dives counts as the first dive of the respective specialty diver course.  Thus once most divers complete the Advanced Open Water course they usually will take a Scuba Diving Specialty course or two.  Some of the more popular are underwater navigation and Peak Performance Buoyancy (to perfect your buoyancy skills) as mentioned above.  Underwater Photography or PADI Underwater Digital Photography is also very popular as is Night Diver, where you learn the basic for diving at night, Wreck Diver where you learn the basics of diving in or around ship wrecks, Search & Recovery Diving or the basics of searching underwater for lost or missing objects.  The single most popular of all PADI Specialty courses is the Enriched Air Nitrox or EAN Nitrox course.  Diving with enriched air or air with an oxygen percentage greater then 21% allows for longer bottom times and leaves the diver less fatigued then when diving with air.  Divers who take underwater photography will want their own underwater camera and housing.  Those diving with nitrox will want their own scuba diving computer or maybe even a computer console.

Divemaster, Assistant Instructor & Scuba Instructor:

For those of us who really like scuba diving the jump to Divemaster, Assistant Instructor or even Scuba Instructor is only natural.  Teaching diving is not only fun but it really helps you cement your own personal dive skills making you a much better diver.  Being a professional gets you “wet” or in the water on scuba much more often.  It is also a great way to meet people.  It is emotionally rewarding and can lead to a whole new way of life or even a new life style.  Once you go all the way to PADI Open Water Scuba Instructor you would think that is a far as you would go.  That, however, is not the case.  Most Open Water Scuba Instructors want to be able to teach Scuba Diving Specialty Courses so they may take the Master Scuba Diver Trainer Course, where they learn to teach five or six different specialty diver courses.  From there the next step is to help train Scuba Instructors.  You can accomplish this by taking the Instructor Development Course Instructor or IDC Course.

Technical Diving Courses:

For those who want to truly do something different you might look at Technical Diving.  There is an Introduction to Tec course, which is a pool experience using technical diving equipment.  From there the three most common technical diving courses are Tec 40, where you learn to dive to 40 meters or 131 feet.  Tec 45 takes you to 45 meters or 147 feet and Tec 50 takes you to 50 meters or 164 feet.  This is a different type of diving that is every equipment intensive.  We will have more on this type of diving in future articles.

Dive Travel

Once you have taken the scuba diving courses that interest you the next step is to simply get out and dive.  You local Dive Center can help there.  At Aquatic Adventures Scuba Academy in No VA we specialize in Dive Travel

and are only too happy to help you book your next Aquatic Adventure.

SCUBA Diving Lessons in Northern Virginia are offered year round at Aquatic Adventures Scuba Academy.

Most people think that SCUBA Diving Lessons refers only to the initial beginner training courses.  Nothing could be further from the truth.  The beginner starts with the Open Water Course and of all of the Open Water Courses available the PADI Open Water Course is the most popular.  In the PADI Open Water Course you only learn the basic scuba diving skills and about the basic scuba diving equipment that you will use when diving.  The Open Water course is easy, fun, and can be completed in very little time.   Once you are certified as a Scuba Diver you have many more options regarding continuing scuba education.

When of the best options available beyond the Open Water Course is the Advanced Open Water Course, and in particular the PADI Advanced Open Water Course.  In this course you start where the Open Water Course leaves off.  In addition to the basic skills that you have already learned you will learn underwater navigation, deep diving, night diving, and several other areas of diving that you might enjoy such as computer diving, underwater photography, search and recovery diving, wreck diving and maybe even fish identification.  Once you complete one of the dives during your Advanced Open Water Scuba Course yo might find that you really like that type of diving.  You can then continue and take the corresponding Specialty Diver Course to learn more about that type of diving.

If you are like me you will become so enthused in scuba diving that you will want the opportunity to scuba dive as often as you can.  I solved that dilemma by taking professional level scuba courses.  On the professional level you would start by taking the PADI Divemaster Course, where you learn to complete your dive skills at Instructor level quality.  You would also learn dive theory or the knowledge of equipment and theory about diving to the level of an Instructor as well.  As a PADI Divemaster you could then assist in the teaching of Scuba Courses and perhaps even leading other divers on dives.    Once you are a Divemaster you could then take the Assistant Instructor and even the PADI Instructor Training Course known as the Instructor Development Course or IDC.

Your options are endless.  It is easy to learn to dive.  It is easy to progress from there to even higher levels of certification which are more fun and exciting.  You can even go so far as to become a PADI Professional or a Scuba Instructor.  The choice is yours.

Scuba Classes Alexandria Virginia for Kids – Get your kids off to a great start!

“Nothing is more rewarding then teaching children about the wonders of the undersea world,” says Marty Rayman, Owner and Course Director of Aquatic Adventures Scuba Academy, a PADI 5 Star IDC Dive Center located in Alexandria, Virginia, located in the Northern Virginia suburbs of Washington, D.C.  I started my love of the sea as a youngster.  I can still remember watching the television show Sea Hunt with Lloyd Bridges, and wanting to grow up and become a scuba diver.  Now many years later I am actually living my childhood dream.

The most wonderful aspect of children learning to scuba dive is not only are they acquiring a life long skill that may shape their lives, but they are learning a skill that they can continue to use with their parents long after they have reached adulthood.  Both of my children learned to dive when they were 10 years old.  Now they are in high school and would rather be with their friends then their parents.  However, whenever we plan a scuba diving excursion they are right there ready and willing.  It is something we can always do together regardless of how old they get.

When you are ready to start your child on scuba you begin by finding a Dive Center that is knows how to teach children and offer such Special Scuba Diver Courses.  Teaching children takes patience and understanding.  It also takes specialized equipment.  Small sized adult equipment is very often not appropriate for children.  Start by looking for such a Dive Center by doing your local internet search.  I live in Alexandria, Virginia and and would search for Children’s Scuba Lessons, Alexandria, Virginia or Children’s Scuba Courses Northern Virginia.  You could also look for Scuba Equipment for Children Alexandria, VA.

Once you find a Dive Center that your are comfortable with, then you need to decide what course is appropriate for your child.  There are a lot of programs designed specifically for children.  PADI Seal Team is for children 8 to 10 years old.  It is a pool only experience where the youngster first learns to breath off of a scuba regulator, and some basic underwater skills.  Once the child turns 10 years old they can take the PADI Junior Open Water course.

At 10 or 11 years old your child can take the Junior Open Water course and will receive a limited certification to dive to a maximum depth of 40 feet.  A 12, 13 or 14 year old will receive a PADI Junior Open Water certification certification with a maximum depth of 60 feet.  Once your child is 15 years old they receive a normal adult certification.

Your 12 to14 year old child is not limited to just the Junior Open Water Course.  Just as there are  Scuba Continuing Education courses for adult divers there are Scuba Continuing Education Courses for children.  There is a PADI Junior Advanced Open Water course that takes your child to skills beyond the open water course.  This give your child a maximum depth of 70 feet and also teaches additional skills like underwater navigation and maybe even junior night diving or junior underwater photography.  Your child does not have to stop there.  They can enroll in the PADI Junior Rescue Diver course to learn about helping to assist divers with problems.  Once your child has the PADI Junior Rescue Diver course and five PADI Junior Specialty Courses, like PADI Junior Night Diver, PADI Junior Underwater Digital Photographer, etc and has logged 50 dives they can become a PADI Junior Master Scuba Diver, which is quite an accomplishment.

The PADI Junior Diver certifications become regular adult certifications automatically when the child reaches the age of 15.  Another consideration for the child diver is the appropriate equipment.  Small adult gear is usually not sufficient both fit wise and safety wise for a child.  A child get cold faster then an adult and should have a Children’s wetsuit that fits properly.  Children’s BCD or buoyancy control device is also a good investment for your child.  If the BCD does not fit properly they will not have good control of their buoyancy and that makes diving more difficult and is not the safest option.  A good, well fitted BCD is both a comfort issue and a safety issue.    An adult regulator may have hoses that are too long of a child.  Changing the hose length and putting a child sized mouthpiece on the scuba regulator is also a good safe option for your child.  I did this for both of my children and when they grew to adult size I just simply put the original hoses back on and their child sized regulator became an adult scuba regulator once again.

If your children are old enough and mature enough to start scuba lessons then you are on the road to providing them both an incredible educational opportunity, a lifetime of enjoyment and excitement and of obtaining a new dive partner or dive buddy and friend.

Selecting Scuba Diving Equipment Alexandria Virginia

Taking the plunge and deciding to purchase your own scuba diving equipment is a giant stride forward.  First let me congratulate you on the decision, which I feel is a very good one.  If you can afford to purchase everything at one time that is always your best choice.  Most Dive Centers will usually offer package pricing when you purchase a scuba regulator, alternate air source or octopus, buoyancy control device (BCD) and gauges or dive computer console.

What to buy first?
Many of us, however, cannot financially afford so large an expense.  In that case you would want to purchase the most personally fitted pieces of equipment, such as the wetsuit or buoyancy control device or BCD first.  Which ever route you choose you need to start by deciding first where you will purchase your equipment then what equipment will you actually select.

Where to buy your scuba equipment?
Always buy scuba equipment from a Dive Center.  You want to try the equipment on prior to buying it.  You want to see how it looks and how it feels.  You want the equipment to be properly serviced and put together prior to using it.  Last but by all means not least you want to have someone close at hand to explain and show you how to use it and to be there should there be a problem.  On line purchases, while looking very inexpensive always end up costing you more in the long run, and worse they often end up with you not having the best equipment for you and the type of diving that you do.

Selecting the Dive Center is the first step and often the most important.  There are a lot of very good brands of scuba diving equipment available, such as Scuba Pro, Zeagle, Sherwood dive equipment, Henderson wetsuits, and DUI Dry Suits.  If you go with any of the major brands you will not go wrong.  The real trick is finding a Dive Center that you are comfortable with, that carries reputable brands, can provide scuba equipment service for what they sell and that you are comfortable with.

Selecting you Dive Center:
Today, the internet is very useful in helping you find a Dive Center.  If you do not already have a Dive Center or Dive Shop then try some on line searches based on where you live or where you work.  I live and work in Alexandria, Virginia so I would search for: Dive Center Alexandria, VA, or PADI Dive Center Alexandria, VA or I might broaden my search to scuba equipment northern Virginia.   This should bring up a number of  responses.  Then look at their respective webpages.  Do they carry major brands of scuba equipment.  Is their webpage informative about the equipment or does it just list what they have.  The more informative the webpage the more they care about you and how the equipment will match your needs.  Stop by and talk to the sales people.  Do they seem knowledgeable and are they willing to work with you?  Will they be there for you should you have a problem?  Are they helping you select what is right for you or are they trying to sell you just what is on the floor?  It should not take you long to answer these questions and thus select who to purchase your dive equipment from.

Selecting your equipment
Now you are ready to begin the process of actually picking out your scuba diving equipment.  Take note of where you like to dive and how often you expect to go diving.  What are you favorite dive vacation locations?  Will you dive just on vacation or will you dive locally?  This information will assist the experts at the Dive Center in helping you select equipment that will match your type of diving.  Obviously, water temperature will determine the thickness of the wetsuit that you select, but it may also have a bearing on the BCD and regulator as well.  If you dive in colder water you want a regulator that is either environmentally sealed or that has heat sinks or some other accessory so that it does not freeze up and free flow in colder water.  In addition since you would wear a thicker dive wetsuit in colder water you would use more weight when diving.  Thus your buoyancy control device would need more lift then a BCD just used in warmer water might offer.  An experienced dive consultant can help you match all of these factors so that you get not only the most for your money but even more importantly, the best dive equipment for you.

Tell the Dive Center sales person where and how often you will dive.  The type of diving that you do and they type that you expect to do in the future.  He or she can then assist you in selecting what is best for you.  Be sure and ask questions.  Why is this better for me then that?  You need to be comfortable with the fit of the gear and also you should be comfortable with what you end up with.

Using your equipment:
Once you have you new dive gear it is time to get out and dive.  If you can try it out in the pool.  Dive locally and go on a dive vacation.  The most important thing is to get out and dive.  The more you dive the better you will become and the more you will enjoy it.